“Trilogy” by Dave Maric

Performed by Jim Yakas

Mallet Selection for this Piece:

Gary Burton Signature M25

Terry Gibbs Signature M31

This line offers a rattan handled mallet for every dynamic range on vibraphone or marimba. Cord wound heads.

ABOUT THE PIECE:

Trilogy (2000)

I. Concentrics
II. Pelogy
III. Tamboo

Dave Maric is an unusually rounded musician with a wide range of knowledge of Latin, jazz and contemporary classical music, and much performance experience as a pianist. This work was commissioned in response to hearing some of his works for live instruments, combined with sampled and digitally altered material from the same instrument. In effect, what is created is a new “super-instrument” with a fascinating overlap between live and sampled sounds during the live performance. This work uses sounds recorded at Colin Currie’s practice studio which have since been “composed” into a CD backing track, which is amplified. Of particular interest in this work is the influence of contemporary dance music, such as “Drum and Bass” and “Trance” music

ABOUT THE COMPOSER:

Dave Maric is a British composer and performer of acoustic and electronic music who has created numerous works for the concert hall, stage, TV and film. He regularly performs in and curates events featuring stylistically varied music; often in conjunction with other artistic disciplines.

After graduating from City University, London in 1991, his noted abilities as a pianist (which combined classical training with explorations into various forms of jazz and improvisation) swiftly led to a diverse range of performance opportunities with, amongst others, Marc Ribot, Gunther Schuller, John Adams, BBC Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Sinfonietta, Steve Martland Band and numerous jazz and rock bands.

His first commissioned work, Trilogy (2000), a solo piece for the percussionist Colin Currie, inspired a number of new chamber commissions for classical soloists including violinist Viktoria Mullova and pianists Katia and Marielle Labèque. Katia Labèque also collaborated with Maric for a number of years on a live performance project, the Katia Labèque Band, which toured the UK and Europe on numerous occasions and released one album recording in 2004: Unspoken.

The Lucerne Festival, Radio France, and BBC Radio 3, amongst others, have also commissioned from Maric new works for Labèque, Mullova and Currie as well as L’Orchestre National de Montpellier, trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger and guitarist Fred Frith. Many of the works for Currie appear on the album recording Borrowed Time released by Onyx Classics in 2007.

More recent projects include a concerto for trumpet and symphony orchestra for Ole Edvard Antonsen, a concerto for percussion and chamber orchestra for Colin Currie and a composing/performance collaboration with the internationally acclaimed jazz trio Phronesis. Forthcoming works include a piano concerto and a work for soprano, solo percussion and chamber orchestra.

Maric has worked extensively with other artistic disciplines ranging from spoken word to video art, shadow puppetry and dance where he has produced a wide variety of music ranging from short electronic pieces to full evening orchestral scores. These include works for companies such as the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Northern Ballet Theatre, Finnish National Opera and the Bern Ballet.

ABOUT THE PERFORMER:

Jim Yakas is currently a full time Instructor of Percussion at the University of Texas at Arlington. He teaches applied lessons and is Assistant Director and Percussion Coordinator of the UT Arlington Marching Band. Jim is currently pursuing a Doctoral of Musical Arts in Percussion Performance from the University of North Texas. He also holds a B.M. in Music Education from the University of North Texas and a M.M. in Percussion Performance and Pedagogy from Northern Illinois University.

Jim’s diversity in percussion education and performance has led him to many unique opportunities. He spent a total of twelve summers in the drum corps activity spanning from performing as a snare drummer with the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps to being a staff member and arranger to eventually becoming their Percussion Coordinator in 2003. Jim is also an active performer on steel drum having traveled to Trinidad/Tobago and Korea as a member of the prestigious Northern Illinois Steel Band. He also has studied hand percussion with Michael Spiro and Orlando Cotto.

Jim has been a clinician at the Percussive Arts Society International Conventions, Texas Music Educator’s Association Convention as well as many Percussive Arts Society State Conventions. He is an active Yamaha Artist/Endorser as well as a Vic Firth Stick and Mallet endorser. Jim also endorses Sabian Cymbals and Remo Drumheads.